Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

Reducing the delivery lead time in a food distribution SME through the implementation of six sigma methodology

Purpose – Six sigma is a systematic data driven approach to reduce the defect and improve the quality in any type of business. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from the application of six sigma in a food service “small to medium sized enterprise” (SME) in a lean environment to reduce the waste in this field. Design/methodology/approach – A simplified version of six sigma is adopted through the application of appropriate statistical tools in order to focus on customer's requirements to identify the defect, the cause of the defect and improve the delivery process by implementing the optimum solution. Findings – The result suggests that modification in layout utilization reduced the number of causes of defect by 40 percent resulting in jumping from 1.44 sigma level to 2.09 Sigma level which is substantial improvement in SME. Research limitations/implications – Simplicity of six sigma is important to enabling any SME to identify the problem and minimize its cause through a systematic approach. Practical implications – Integrating of supply chain objectives with any quality initiatives such as lean and six sigma has a substantial effect on achieving to the targets. Originality/value – This paper represents a potential area in which six sigma methodology along side the lean management can promote supply chain management objectives for a food distribution SME

Implementing the Lean Sigma Framework in an Indian SME: a case study

Lean and Six Sigma are two widely acknowledged business process improvement strategies available to organisations today for achieving dramatic results in cost, quality and time by focusing on process performance. Lately, Lean and Six Sigma practitioners are integrating the two strategies into a more powerful and effective hybrid, addressing many of the weaknesses and retaining most of the strengths of each strategy. Lean Sigma combines the variability reduction tools and techniques from Six Sigma with the waste and non-value added elimination tools and techniques from Lean Manufacturing, to generate savings to the bottom-line of an organisation. This paper proposes a Lean Sigma framework to reduce the defect occurring in the final product (automobile accessories) manufactured by a die-casting process. The proposed framework integrates Lean tools (current state map, 5S System, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)) within Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to enhance the bottom-line results and win customer loyalty. Implementation of the proposed framework shows dramatic improvement in the key metrics (defect per unit (DPU), process capability index, mean and standard deviation of casting density, yield, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)) and a substantial financial savings is generated by the organisation

A systematic literature review of hybrid approaches of lean, agile and six sigma philosophies in supply chain management

The purpose of this study is to critically review the current literature on hybrid approaches of lean, agile and six sigma applications in supply chain management. Lean, agile and six sigma are improvement philosophies; these are developed in the manufacturing industry. In the last two decades, the applications of these philosophies have received considerable attention in both the manufacturing and the service industries. This attention is evident in many published studies in different journals, showing challenges and limitations for adopting these philosophies, including the integrated lean six sigma (LSS) and lean-agile (legality or leagile) in the supply chain practices. However, studies on hybrid approaches of lean, agile and six sigma philosophies in the supply chain management using a systematic literature review are relatively lacking. With this motivation, this study aims to address such gaps in the supply chain management literature. More specifically, it focuses on exploring the challenges and limitations to identify the benefits of hybrid approaches in border supply chain management. In particular, to identify how those challenges and limitations impact on overall supply chain practices and performance. To this end, the final sample of 118 peer-reviewed articles was reviewed to constitute the knowledge base of the study. Therefore, this study critically reviewed and analysed previous theoretical and evidence-based literature on the key themes associated with the topic by using a systematic literature review. This study adopted a systematic literature review research methodology involving a three-stage review method. The three stages were (1) planning the review; (2) conducting the review; and (3) reporting and dissemination. This study presents the details of the literature search, outcomes of the search, subsequent analysis of 118 articles from 40 different journals, and contributions to knowledge, key findings and recommendations. This study is one of the first systematic literature reviews on hybrid approaches of lean, agile and six sigma philosophies, in particular reviewing the literature to explore to what extent hybrid approaches of these philosophies influence supply chain practices and performance in the context of various industries. None of the previous literature has critically reviewed the hybrid approach of lean, agile and six sigma philosophies in terms of challenges and limitations in the context of supply chain practices. This study adds to the existing literature by critically reviewing the literature on hybrid approaches of lean, agile, and six sigma philosophies, emphasizing challenges, limitations, and benefits of integrated approaches in the context of supply chain management for various industries. Based on a critical literature review, a conceptual framework is developed as the basis of integrated LASS philosophy for supply chain management

Applications of lean thinking: a briefing document

This report has been put together by the Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre (HaCIRIC) at the University of Salford for the Department of Health. The need for the report grew out of two main simple questions, o Is Lean applicable in sectors other than manufacturing? o Can the service delivery sector learn from the success of lean in manufacturing and realise the benefits of its implementation?The aim of the report is to list together examples of lean thinking as it is evidenced in the public and private service sector. Following a review of various sources a catalogue of evidence is put together in an organised manner which demonstrates that Lean principles and techniques, when applied rigorously and throughout an entire organization/unit, they can have a positive impact on productivity, cost, quality, and timely delivery of services

Winning customer loyalty in an automotive company through Six Sigma: a case study

Six Sigma is a disciplined approach to improving product, process and service quality. Since its inception at Motorola in the mid 1980s Six Sigma has evolved significantly and continues to expand to improve process performance, enhance business profitability and increase customer satisfaction. This paper presents an extensive literature review based on the experiences of both academics and practitioners on Six Sigma, followed by the application of the Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) problem-solving methodology to identify the parameters causing casting defects and to control these parameters. The results of the study are based on the application of tools and techniques in the DMAIC methodology, i.e. Pareto Analysis, Measurement System Analysis, Regression Analysis and Design of Experiment. The results of the study show that the application of the Six Sigma methodology reduced casting defects and increased the process capability of the process from 0.49 to 1.28. The application of DMAIC has resulted in a significant financial impact (over U.S. $110 000 per annum) on the bottom-line of the company

Performance measurement applications in facilities management: An investigation into the future directions

Facilities Management (FM) is very frequently described as, “an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organisation in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organisation”. The practical and strategic relevance of FM to organisations in all sectors of the economy is now increasingly recognised. Accordingly, organisations seek to improve their competitiveness by introducing a core business philosophy and restructuring to release senior management time and improve effectiveness. Managements have begun to realise that for organisations to benefit from their enormous investment in facilities, they have to begin managing them actively and creatively with commitment and a broader vision. Formulation of techniques that are capable of assessing “facilities performance” in terms of quality, cost and effectiveness, is therefore critical for “Organisational” and “FM” advancements. Research has emphasised that there is a clear need to measure FM performance which would integrate both the business and facilities domains. Accordingly, this paper summarises a literature review of current leading-edge performance measurement and management practices within facilities management organisations and conceptual models of performance measurement and management from other industries. Accordingly, the paper identifies the directions to develop performance measurement systems in FM with specific links to measure facilities relationships with those of the core business

Model for Prioritization of High Variation Elements in Discrete Production Systems

The complexity of the modern manufacturing enterprise has led companies to look for techniques and methodologies for improving production performance. Lean manufacturing techniques have been applied in the US with varying degrees of success, and Theory of Constraints (TOC) has been used to emphasize the flow of production and identify performance improvement projects. One aspect of manufacturing for which there has been limited academic or industrial research till date is the impact of variation on production performance and the identification of improvement projects based on variation. This thesis develops a methodology to incorporate random and simultaneous occurrence of variability in a manufacturing facility, e.g., equipment failure, variabilities in the arrival time of raw materials and in-station processing time, to model system performance. Two measures of performance are developed corresponding to time and material. A prioritization algorithm is developed to utilize the “Coefficient of Variation” to identify a Bundle of High Variation Elements (BHVs) affecting the performance of a production system. The Bundled Variation-based Project Prioritization Model (BVPM) is a closed-loop model designed to provide decision makers with a list of projects to improve system performance while monitoring the implementation of projects